Anticipate
by Her Head In the Clouds
Summary: Listen, even if I go far away, I'll come back. A drabble about how even though they may be fighters and specialists, above everything else, Piper always remembers that she was his friend first.


_A/n: ~Hey y'all! A new summer season is slowly approaching and while severe writer's block hits me pretty much everyday, I want to keep this ball rolling so more creativity juice gets flowing. Anyways, here's one of the many drabbles to come! Happy reading!_

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><p><em>::Dedications to all you looking forward to the summer season, getting your schooling done or not (which I hope to those who are, ARE! haha)... which also reminds me, happy first day of summer!<em>

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><p><strong><em>Anticipate<br>_**  
><strong><em>June 21st, 2011<br>_**  
><strong><em>by: Her Head in the Clouds<em>**

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><p>The clouds would be grey on days like those, but the sun would be bright and that was all that really mattered because when he went away, despite the warmth and comfort that her other boys gave her, that was all that Piper really could hope on - a magnificent sky that despite it's gloomy atmosphere brought the light of the sun and a ray of faith that she believed in when Aerrow was away.<p>

Aerrow was their leader, and no matter how many days they goofed or nights they stayed up together just being the childhood friends they always were, she had to keep remembering that one fact: They were getting older, growing up, and had a terra-load of responsibilities and duties to maintain. She would always be his best friend, but she was now his second in command, navigator and tactics specialist too, and when the duty arose, the former had to be pushed aside.

It made her understand then, when the red head went away for solo or group missions with other sky nights, why she was always more afraid than confident when being put in his place as active team leader. She was a crystal specialist not a coach or someone born to be followed - she never really had that much faith in herself when she found herself in his position.

Aerrow was the star where she wasn't when it came to everything that meant being a Sky Knight. Sure, every other squadron in the Atmos had their Sky Knights pulled away on overnight missions that called for the other team members pulling the weight in their absence. It was a no-brainer for team members who watched and listened well to their leaders, earning their trust and responsibility when they went away. Piper was brilliant as his second in command; it was never hard for Aerrow to jump at the chance of a new solo mission and grin with a, "Piper, you're in charge!" then take off into the clouds without a concern in the world. All the while Finn, Junko, Radarr, and Stork admirably taking her orders and diligently having her back. Even the Merb once commented that, "Piper could best Aerrow at his own job if she wanted to..."  
>And while Piper at the time, would give a cheeky smile and exert the confidence that made them all so damn proud to have her on their ship, Piper would never voice to them (let alone herself) how much her nerves would crackle with anxiety and how deep her heart would shutter at mere mention of a "Piper, you're in charge!"<p>

And it wasn't even because she was afraid of being a bad team leader or getting the Storm Hawks into danger. Piper had more strength and courage than that! She'd be damned if she let a Raptor, Murk Raider or Cyclonian ever get the best of her and her boys; and she wasn't above gloating a win over them either. That just wasn't Piper.

No, it wasn't the job that worried her.

It was the waiting.

Because... God, forbid they were all still kids and she had a best friend she cared about when he went away.

No, Piper wasn't above gloating when it came to winning, but she also wasn't above being afraid too.

When Aerrow went away, when she couldn't predict when his Skimmer would emerge from the clouds, when she didn't know what he was doing, that was when Piper was anxious about being left in charge. Being in charge meant he was leaving and until he returned, the team was left without one member, both in the team and family sense.

She never showed it. Never voiced it. Just kept her head held high and walked about doing what she could, ever pretending like he was still around the Condor and was maybe in the bathroom or sleeping while she covered his responsibilities. Short missions (like of the couple hours) went by without a breeze of physical concern; longer missions (like past the eight or ten hour stretch) would be enough for her to say "I hope he's doing okay..." then move on like it was a minor concern - Aerrow trained that into her, telling her in the beginning when they just first started out that she shouldn't be so worried and keep on working. But when Aerrow went away for missions that had to last for more than twenty-fours...

Well, Piper didn't have to say how many fingernails she chewed off or how much tea she drank when he took on the two-day decoy mission on Terra Zartacla.

Sure, he came back with all his limbs, his trademark grin, and a husky voice that cried, "No sweat!" as he walked into the Condor hangar bay, but Piper wasn't ever truly relieved with his return until she was sure he'd made a trip to their medical bay, had taken a shower, and was eating a full dinner by the time the sun went down. Call it a motherly nature, a supposed girlfriend's concern, or an obsessively safety-prone team mate's wishes (no wait, that was Stork's role), Piper would never deny that what she felt when Aerrow came back from any of his missions without her wasn't ever purely or professionally friendly. As to emphasis again, he was her best friend.

Because even with all of Aerrow's counterarguments, Finn's snickering or her own morality on the subjects of team and work, Piper was still Piper and Aerrow was still Aerrow, no matter how much their roles and duties defined them. And even when those roles and duties called and he would fly away, Piper wouldn't forget that he was her best friend and would wait with tight fists.

She was never really a patient girl.

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><p><em>~I know the other guys like Finn are like her best friends too, but I wanted an AerrowPiper centric drabble so I left them out. Call it what you will, I hope it brought you some warmth in the belly. Lol until next time, review and stay gold!_

_Much love, Abby~_


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